


Lost Together in Darkness

by Gold_Dog



Category: Fablehaven Series - Brandon Mull, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-27 19:35:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20051404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gold_Dog/pseuds/Gold_Dog
Summary: While shadow-traveling, Nico makes an interesting discovery.





	Lost Together in Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> This is set after Demon Prison and Blood of Olympus. Seth's powers are a bit stronger just because Nico is so damn powerful. I was looking for a fic like this, and couldn't find one so I wrote this.

Nico was lost.

Of course, Nico had been lost before, but it felt different this time. For one, he couldn't see a thing. If he had to guess, he was in a cave, but he couldn't tell. The area reeked of overripe fruit and musty old furniture. The air was warm.

The time seemed to tick very slowly. Nico gave himself a moment to get his bearing and catch his breath, but he still felt very disoriented. He felt very drained, especially after such a short jump, almost as if he had inadvertently crossed a barrier that was not meant to be crossed. After a while, he decided he'd better get up. He shifted slightly.

"What was that?", a voice said off to his left. It sounded young yet confident.

Nico panicked. Many thoughts ran through his head at once. _Cyclopes? Demigods? Titans, Gods, Giants, Tartarus? _He pushed that thought away. Nico tried to shadow travel but failed, and he found he barely had enough energy to summon a skeleton. His new companion was of little comfort, but at least he had something. He willed the skeleton to move in what he thought was the direction of the voice.

"Gaghhh!", he heard. Evidently, he had hit his mark.

"Seth, are you alright?", an older male voice said. 

"Ya", Seth said. It reminded Nico somewhat of Percy, which he did not appreciate. "Warren, sit down".

Nico should have taken that as a warning, but he didn't think of it. The room started to tilt and turn, and the temperature dropping was enough to force weak Nico into blackness.

xxx

He should have brought a flashlight. Seth figured checking in Graulas's cave would've been simple, but evidently not. He also did _not_ think there would be any reanimated corpses. Normally, ghosts and ghouls didn't scare him, but this skeleton had no soul that he could sense. Either way, it seemed whoever had summoned the skeleton was gone. Then again, they couldn't effectively search the cave without a light, so the culprit could be lurking in the shadows or have fled.

"You okay?", Warren asked. "You look like you saw a ghost". He hadn't seen a ghost, sure, but a skeleton was almost as bad.

"Ya, it just bothers me that there were already creatures reclaiming Graulas's old lair, especially dark creatures".

"It's probably nothing", Warren said, although he didn't sound very convinced. "Let's just focus on getting home."

That, at least, was simple. Hugo could carry them both and still move as fast as the wind.

Later, Seth found himself at the dinner table telling all of his grandparents, his sister, and Dale about the creature.

"Hmmm", Grandpa Sorenson mused. "Perhaps a phantom or a wraith? Or maybe a particularly powerful shade..."

"That's not all", Seth said. "I felt drawn towards this thing in a way separate from my powers. Almost like the fruit of the Beckoning Grove in Living Mirage."

The air seemed to get colder, and this time not because of Seth. Maybe mentioning Living Mirage had not been a good idea.

"Warren? Did you feel the same inclination?" Grandpa Sorensen asked.

"No, definitely not. If anything I wanted to run out of the cave right then and there."

This seemed to trouble Grandpa, probably because if Warren didn't feel drawn towards that thing, then whatever was in the demon's old lair was probably especially interested in Seth. 

"Well, we should all sleep on it", Grandma Sorenson said. "Nobody is in any danger right now, and some rest will do us good."

After saying goodnight, Kendra and Seth went up to their room and a very reluctant Seth climbed into bed. He probably would not sleep tonight. He couldn't shake the feeling that he should have found whoever it was who was in the cave.

After trying and failing to sleep, Seth checked to make sure that Kendra was asleep. Yesterday, he would have thought his nights of sneaking out were behind him, but it seemed tonight he would have to make an exception.

xxx

Nico stirred in his sleep. He couldn't the feeling something was off. He didn't remember going back to his cabin to sleep. 

He shot up. He had slept for Hades knows how long. He could have been found! It had felt like a while, but he wasn't sure.

With some of his power restored, Nico tried extending his senses outwards. If he was underground, he should be able to find a way out. He stood up, and sensed an exit not far off. He walked outside.

Dusk was falling, and Nico could see the edge of the sun peaking over the horizon. He seemed to be in a small clearing centered around the cave he had just left. There was a path off to the side, and he figured it was as good a place as any to start walking.

As he walked, he thought back on what he was here to accomplish. His father had sent him here because he was feeling unusual activity in the area north of New York. Apparently, he had been right. Now Nico needed to find out more about this place, regain enough energy to shadow travel back, and then report back to camp and his father with the location and details. Seemed simple enough.

After a few more minutes of walking, Nico heard huge footsteps up ahead, coming from something about the size of Mrs. O' Leary. He ducked off to the side of the path and took cover in some bushes nearby.

He looked up and saw a huge humanoid figure, which looked to be pushing ten feet tall. The figure was running along at a fast pace, taking huge strides. Barely noticeable, on the figure's back was a boy, who looked to be around Nico's age.

He thought to have evaded detection until he heard that same, Percy-like voice from the cave say "Wait, Hugo. Stop here." Seth. Seth was his name.

Nico saw the figure hop down, and knew that this may be the end of the line. His only chance now was to cooperate.

Seth was getting closer to Nico's hiding spot. Nico became aware of how he was hiding, curled in a ball like a child. Seth saw Nico, and his expression turned kind, _With those eyes__,_ Nico thought, _Cooperation will not be a problem._


End file.
